The European approved McMurdo MT-1 has now been agreed for use in US waters.
McMurdo's Automatic Identification System (AIS) has received its Grant of Authorisation from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) of Washington and can now be used by American vessels.
The state-of-the-art transponder is designed to transmit ships data to other vessels in its vicinity using a touch-screen minimum keyboard and display (MKD).
Having recently received its EC Quality System Certification and EU MED Ship wheel Approval the MT-1 AIS can now be fitted to all vessels whose flag state are MED compliant.
Boasting touch-screen menus that allow quick access to short text based safety messges, detailed target static and voyage related information the MT-1 by far exceeds the minimum IMO requirements.
Voyage related date is transmitted every six minutes and dynamic information is transmitted every six seconds to three minutes depending on the vessels status. As well as all this the MT-1 shows vessels MMSI number and call sign, type, length and beam, also their heading course and speed over ground.
All of this detailed information - provided in a clear graphical format - helps to keep direct VHF voice contact between vessels to an important minimum.
